Reply To: “Big Tech”: Too much power?

Always_Asks_Questions,

“So, is it Twitter fault that people prefer being entertained?”

Actually, yes I do fault Twitter partly for it. People go onto Twitter and other social media assuming it is an open community where they can read about what others around them are thinking and doing. Yes, people may actively tunnel into content that reinforces their own views, which has contributed to the increased polarization we are seeing in our society, but the social media companies are not up front with us about the algorithms they use to decide what content we see or don’t see. Their goal is engagement, keeping our eyes captured on their apps so we keep clicking and receiving ads, and so they can harvest as much personal information from us and our contacts as possible to sell to other parties. So while people sign up for Twitter voluntarily, they are not being told that they are actually signing up for a program of psychological manipulation and data harvesting to serve unknown interests. Are you concerned about that?